Cover-Credits:
League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational, the first international event of 2022, is all set to kick off on 10th May and the teams have started to fly to the destination of the LAN event in Korea. The MSI 2022 is being held at the Busan Esports Arena and the Busan Exhibition and Convention Center (BEXCO). Now, it has been reportedly confirmed that the players and the staff participating in the MSI 2022 have to go through self-isolation.
The past two years have been turbulent because of the COVID-19 pandemic which has challenged live events in unprecedented ways. There have been cases where players or staff members tested positive for COVID-19 even after following all the precautions. Riot Games had made it loud and clear that its goal is to produce safe and fair events and provide the best experience to fans and the players.
The MSI has been a tournament that has gotten hit by COVID-19 in the past three years. Last year, the representative from the Vietnam Championship Series (VCS) was not able to participate in the event and the year before, the tournament was called off completely.
Self-quarantine in team accommodations
According to Daily Esports and Naver, esports officials, team members, and support staff will be required to self-quarantine for a week at their respective official team hotels in Busan. The report stated that the Vietnamese representative, Saigon Buffalo, has already arrived in Korea and commenced its self-quarantine before the MSI 2022.
Following this, all other remaining teams that are scheduled to enter will also move to Busan and follow the same procedure.
The report added that South Korea was exempted from self-quarantine for overseas travelers who are fully vaccinated and that the teams technically don’t have to isolate themselves if they have completed their vaccinations. However, Riot Games has set this quarantine policy for a week before the tournament and notified the participating teams. Keeping this in consideration, most teams will arrive in Busan between 27th and 29th April to complete the self-quarantine process.
Saigon Buffalo updated the situation on its Facebook page. The team manager wrote (translated), “The team has arrived in Busan, checked in, and entered a private room to carry out quarantine within 7 days. Currently, because the information security policy and immune quarantine are very strict, there is no picture to update you temporarily. I will update you as soon as possible.”
On social media, many teams and players have already updated their journey status. On 28th April, G2 Esports Marcin "Jankos" Jankowski jungler wrote, “Landed safely in Korea.” Meanwhile, Evil Geniuses' top-laner Jeong "Impact" Eon-young also shared a photo of him on a flight to Korea.
According to Daily Esports, the officials stated that Riot was exercising caution since it is hosting this League of Legends tournament in Korea after four years. The self-quarantine will reportedly be a limited one and it seems like those quarantined will only be allowed to go between players’ rooms and the practice room provided inside the hotel.
Notably, only eleven teams will be participating in the MSI 2022 and the Chinese representative, Royal Never Give UP (RNG) of the League of Legends Pro League (LPL), will be participating in the tournament remotely due to travel constraints.
